The X-Culture program was launched in 2012 at Szent István University, the predecessor institution of MATE, by Prof. József Poór. Later, at MATE, the program was coordinated by Prof. Erika Varga and continued for several semesters. Over the years, 66 economics students at our University have received X-Culture certificates as part of the International Management and International Human Resource Management courses.

Since its launch in 2010, the program has involved more than 90,000 students from economics, management, and other disciplines across more than 40 countries worldwide. In a unique development, international students enrolled in the MSc program in Crop Production have now also joined the program under the supervision of Prof. József Poór, within the framework of the course “Management Methods and Techniques”.

 A total of 13 students obtained the certificate attesting to the American X-Culture qualification. This certificate is awarded to students who successfully complete the project-oriented, location-independent online X-Culture program, coordinated by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, which develops international competencies. As part of the program, applicants—working in international teams of 5 to 7 members—can also gain insight into the international business case-solving program coordinated by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
 

The participating students were required to develop business solutions applicable in an international environment, in the form of consulting proposals, for the following large companies and organisations:

• ALDI, the German retail group
• Haier, the Chinese home appliance manufacturer
• BP, the international oil company
• Google, the international information technology company
• HSBC, the world’s second-largest commercial bank
• McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain
• Toyota, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers
• a manufacturer of super-hard abrasive materials
• VF Corporation, one of the world’s largest textile and apparel companies
• JBS, the Brazilian food industry company
• an agricultural manufacturing company operating on the international market
• Congen, a company providing care for ageing generations
• WeGoo, a mobile transportation company
• the application of the Finnish school system in an international environment
• Walt Disney, the well-known entertainment company
• several major food industry companies
• as well as a private company or organisation freely chosen by the participants

Compared to the previous year, the range of tools used by students to communicate with one another has expanded. Popular channels now include, among others, email, Skype, Google Docs, Dropbox, Google+, and Facebook Groups.

For the Crop Production Engineering students, the program was particularly useful because it enabled them to practice the process of creating, developing, and preparing an international corporate project in international teams of 5 to 7 members. The project-based case solutions prepared and submitted over the course of two months were evaluated by the professors supervising the participants in the program, including the MATE professor coordinating the course.

At the end of the semester, each successful participant received a certificate of participation. The certificates were presented on 14 May 2026 at the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics.